Japanese '05 Outback import odometer check

[brunis]

I'm looking at a mint condition Subaru Outback and usually the japanese imports can be verified. Or at least you can verify the odometer at export time and make a sensible evaluation whether it has been tampered with or not. But i found a mint condish 2005 LL bean condition that seem to have no online records.

 

So is there a way to manually inspect the car and verify mileage, are the odometer checks electronically stored in the vehicle?

 

I fear once it's been dialed back there is no history in the car, am i correct?

 

[matt167]

the odometers are actually simple computers that are programmable. In normal cases, they are usually programmed automatically in sequence in succession of the miles or kilometers driven.. They can be hacked with home made cables and simple programs though. If you can't verify the odometer, then just feel the car out completely

[1 Lucky Texan]

in 'the old days' pedal pad wear was about the only other indicator. You want to see wear reflective of the mileage. NEW pedals , OR, extremely worn pedals, would be a red flag that odo cheating has been done.

 

here in the US, we have labs like Blackstone and Polaris that do fluid analysis might be able to tell you if there are excessive metals or fuel or coolant or silicon in the oil.

 

other than that, it's a gamble.